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Mount Union holds off Tigers

Four Trojans finish in 80s or lower in win

Sentinel photo by MATTHEW STRICKER
Mount Union’s Trey Heffelfinger lifts a shot towards the cup, Monday, at the American Legion Country Club in Mount Union. Mount Union defeated East Juniata, 336-385.

MOUNT UNION — The Mount Union golf team held off a challenge from East Juniata to remain unbeaten on the season at the American Legion Country Club Monday afternoon.

The Trojans scored a 336-385 victory over the Tigers to improve to 8-0 overall. East Juniata fell to 11-11 on the year.

Trey Heffelfinger led the charge for Mount Union with a 77 — just three over par on the ALCC course. Ben Shoop shot an 83, while Kaleb Atherton and Sam Stewart each collected an 88 to account for the Trojan scoring.

Mount Union coach Matt Fiscus liked the way his team came through with four golfers in the eighties or lower.

“We had a really good East Juniata team come in here. We got lucky that we played well because anytime you play them you better bring your A-game,” Fiscus said. “We had Trey shoot a nice round in the middle seventies and that set the mark. We were able to ride that and had three scores in the eighties to go along with his and in most golf matches if you can do that, you are going to come out on top.”

The Tigers picked up solid games from Chase Kepner and Will Orwig, both shooting an 82. Kepner started off slow with a 45 on the front nine but rebounded with a solid 37 on the back nine. East Juniata coach Mike Zendt likes what he’s seeing from his top two scorers.

“Chase made a nice recovery from the front nine to the back nine and pulled it together. He had a solid back nine,” Zendt said. “I’m excited for Will. It’s going to be a solid next three years for him. He’s in the districts this year with his average score where it is now and I’m excited about his future with the team for sure.”

Also contributing to the Tigers’ team score was Zach Fogle (109) and Jake Kinzer (110). Also on the course for East Juniata were Ethan Jamison (111), Luke Fogleman (115) and Isaac Austin (161).

“My two top guys, Chase Kepner and Will Orwig played very well. I was pleased with their scores. Again, we are struggling with those three through six positions right now,” Zendt said. “We’re having trouble getting guys to get the job done. We aren’t chipping, we aren’t putting, and we are not driving the ball well. It seems like there’s always something with their game right now that they are struggling with. Hopefully, we can get that straightened out before districts and go from there.”

Bryan Stinson (90) and Nick Pearce (111) contributed to the Mount Union cause on a beautiful day for golf, despite the slow greens.

“We’ve been playing some pretty good golf here at home and I knew we were due to play well. We finally came through today,” Fiscus said. “I thought the course was in good shape. The weather was perfect. It was one of those days where everybody is a winner whenever you come out and play in weather like this.

“I thought the greens were slow. They were punched not too long ago — most of them are this time of year. You get used to a certain pace and then you slow down. It is what it is this time of year for most courses.”

Zendt didn’t think the greens were a problem for his team — inexperience was the culprit.

“Three of my six had never seen this course before and I think that hurt us. It’s tough because you’re not swinging with the confidence you need to. That probably played more into it than the slow greens,” Zendt said. “They can adjust to that. I think it would be more difficult to go from slow greens to fast greens which we’ll probably do on Wednesday.”

Mount Union plays in the Inter-County Conference Tournament on Monday, while East Juniata takes on the Tri-Valley League at the Conestoga Country Club on Wednesday.

Mount Union 336, East Juniata 385

Mount Union

Trey Heffelfinger 77, Ben Shoop 83, Kaleb Atherton 88, Sam Stewart 88.

East Juniata

Will Orwig 82, Chase Kepner 82, Zach Fogle 109, Jake Kinzer 110.

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